Broken Redux
by sphinx07
Summary: House/Chase fanfic. Drops in right when House is tried to convince Wilson to get dirt on Dr. Nolan...CHAPTER 8 NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Broken Redux

Rating: T (for now…)

Paring: House/Chase

Summary: A House/Chase fanfic. This is a re-vamp of Season 6. It drops in right when House is trying to get dirt on Dr. Nolan. Slashy goodness to follow, so the whole Chase/Cameron relationship didn't take place during Season 5.

Please do NOT read if you don't like slash, male/male, etc.

Disclaimer: Sadly, as others feel, don't own any rights to House, Chase, or any other characters except for mine, which will show up later.

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~~**Chapter 1**~~

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House stared at the phone in disbelief. Pieces of the conversation with Wilson still floating around in his head.

_"House, he called me…wanted to know about you…warn me that you would call for something…let him do his job…sorry, I can't help you."_

He had underestimated Nolan, however, that would not deter him from his plan. A backup immediately entered his mind as he automatically reached for the phone again.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"I never pegged you as a drooler."

"What?" the voice was becoming more alert now.

"Although the nose twitch is very adorable."

"House?" the voice was now fully awake.

"Miss me, wombat?" he replied smirking, which could undeniably be heard through the phone.

He had a clear image of Chase springing up from his couch, where he was no doubt dozing, scanning the room clearly expecting House to somehow magically appear.

"I…I…how are you?" came the hesitant reply. Chase's brain was focusing, thoughts were now rapid running around.

Firstly, House was calling _him_. Undoubtedly, this was not the first call of the night made by the older physician. What could House want so badly that Wilson refused and then make him turn to Chase?

"Haven't you heard? I'm King of the Looney bin."

Typically, back in the old days, Chase would've rolled his eyes but this time he couldn't help a small smile from appearing on his face.

Getting the job in surgery was a great opportunity and kept him on his toes for the most part. However, every once in a while, a pang of unease would set in. Chase knew his missed Diagnostics but pushed it away the best he could, figuring that feeling was to be as expected.

He didn't know if this was made better or worse when the new "potentials" started coming to him, involving him again into House's world. Then he began to realize he was missing more than just the mind puzzling cases. Yes, he loved medicine and his career but this was more basic. And, of course, he kept in regular contact with Foreman and Cameron.

Honestly, though, he missed being around House. He'd grown to like the other man's personality, humor, crazy logic, and any other antics he was capable of. After spending all this time away, interacting with career driven doctors, House was a breath of fresh air.

"And the detox?"

A pause and instantly Chase knew something changed.

"Can't say I would love to do it again but I made it through. The leg still hurts but it's manageable with the new meds."

Yes, something changed. The honesty in House's voice confirmed it.

"I'm glad you're better." Chase genuinely replied. After another pause and for some unknown reason, he opened his mouth again. "I've…um, we've missed you."

"Well then" Chase could sense and hear House revert back again "good, I won't be the only one to benefit. I need you to do something and if you help, I can be back there in 24 hours and balance can be restored to the universe."

"House, wait…" he couldn't even begin to know what idea was to follow but knew agreeing was not an option.

"I mean, Cuddy couldn't have destroyed the department already."

In true House fashion, once he is trying to rope someone into his plan, he doesn't allow anytime to pause of consideration.

"House, listen you have to…"

"Here's what I need you to do. There's a know-it-all shrink that I need to know all about. Particularly his extra-marital activities…"

"Stop! Please House, just stop for a moment and listen to me."

Half amazed and surprised, his request was obeyed.

'_Well, it's now or never.'_

"You know that I've had no issues breaking into patient's homes, offices, and whatever else you've asked for. But this isn't some random case, involving some random person. This is about your life and your well-being. And I know you well enough that before you called me, you called Wilson who obviously turned you down. And it doesn't matter that he said no or even why he chose to. I'm completely willing to help but not like this. You need to get better House. It's too much of a waste if you don't."

While the words were pouring out, he was pretty sure that he would've ended up talking to thin air for a while. After all, House was not known for having patience while listening to motivational type speeches.

"Well, gee golly Robbie, I didn't think about it that way until you said it like that. Is it really that hard for you people just to simply say no without the Danny Tanner speech?" was all that was said before Chase click and a dial tone.

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Remember…be kind…and rewind - oh wait, sorry, I meant review :) (bad joke, I know)

This is my first stab at fanfiction, so some feedback would be cool. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry about the long long wait! My laptop crashed on me and I lost all my work.

I wanted to say a ****huge**** thanks to everyone who left reviews on the first chapter! I really appreciate the encouragement :)

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**~~Chapter 2~~**

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"Alright guys, visiting hours are about to start so we'll finish group for today. I think some of you are making really good progress. Keep it up. See you next week."

House rolled his eyes as he got up from the always uncomfortable plastic chair.

The blond doctor reminded him too much of Cameron's naïve optimism when she first started out. In the back of his mind he made a mental note to see what he could do to change that.

Turning, he started to make his way to the basketball court outside, when a different flash of blond caught his attention. A momentary feeling of panic gripped his chest.

He quickly glanced around the figure, seeing if anyone else had taken notice of him. Fortunately, the tightness in his chest released a second later as he saw a nurse asking if he needed any help.

A hand was pointed in his direction, then what felt like a blink of an eye, sure enough there was Dr. Robert Chase standing right in front of him.

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The whole drive to Mayfield he knew it was useless but Chase tried to prepare to see House. Tried imaging how he would look, not meaning the state of his clothes or hair as House mostly always appeared a little rough around the edges.

He was more concerned about the look in his face. From years and countless hours of past experience, he learned to distinguish whether or not the other man was in control based on the look in his eyes.

Now, as he was stepping onto the elevator, an unexpected flood of nervousness hit him. After two weeks, he still didn't honestly know what possessed him to come. He just knew he felt uneasy after talking with House. It wasn't that he felt guilty for turning him down as most might have guessed. There was something more happening and he needed to know what it was.

'_This is probably what it feels like for House when the case is closed but knows there's still a diagnosis to be found.'_

Chase smirked as he thought of all those times the team thought he was crazy as House wouldn't quit the case, like the teenage girl with heart failure whose condition was being aggravated by a tick she caught from having sex with her boyfriend.

Before he knew it, he was now standing in the main activity room of Ward 6.

Almost psychically, he immediately caught House's attention and witnessed an unfamiliar emotion flash on his face. Before he could try to decipher the look, his attention was distracted.

"Sir, can I help you find someone?"

He looked to his right and found a young brunette nurse smiling up at him.

"Uh, thanks but I see him." He said giving a quick point to House.

The nurse followed the direction of his hand, the smile dropped and then she quickly replied before leaving, "Oh…ok, then."

Chase wasn't fazed by this reaction toward House. After the nurse left, his gaze locked with the other man's and felt himself walk forward without a second thought.

With each step, he noticed his prepared topics to talk about proceeded to go right out the window just as he reached his destination.

"Hi."

"Hey." was House's reply after a short awkward moment.

Unfortunately, neither knew how to progress the conversation from there. Luckily, that ended quickly as a third body literally bounced into their space a second later.

"House! Yo, House. You got a visitor. Who is he?"

Not bothering for a reply, the man turned his attention to him.

"Who are you? What's your business with my main man House?"

Chase simply stared at the short man that was bouncing between House and himself.

"I'm…"

"This is my young hot step sister. Now beat it."

The man stopped bouncing, looking back and forth, before grinning at House.

"Ah…I get it. I get it. Phase 2, huh. Phase 2."

Again, not waiting for a response, he turned to Chase with a knowing nod and wink.

"The name is Alvie. You know, in case you need someone on the inside."

After watching Alvie leave, Chase looked back at House, eyebrow arched in question.

"President of your fan club?"

House's gaze shifted toward the window.

"Nope, even better…"

The eyes shifted back again.

"Roommate."

"I guess life has its own sense of humor after all."

"Oh yeah, I'm laughing on the inside. So…are you going to tell me why you're here? Somehow I get the feeling you didn't have a change of heart from out last chat."

House stared point blank and Chase could feel himself begin to fluster.

'_Damn it. I don't even bloody know why I'm really here.'_

"Well…you're right. I didn't change my mind…but…"

He stopped when he saw Alvie start to wander around them again, unsuccessfully appearing to not be paying attention.

"Is there somewhere else we can go to talk?"

House followed his eye line to see what prompted the request. He began to roll his eyes and think of a sarcastic remark until he saw Nolan glance over at them. After shifting his gaze back to Chase, he thought for a few minutes before replying.

"Follow me."

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"It's pretty nice out here."

House had taken them outside and started walking around the grounds. Thankfully, the feeling of fluster quickly passed shortly after. Outside was definitely more calming to his nerves in contrast to the walls of Ward 6.

"Yeah, all the crazies find it soothing too. Now, are you ever planning on answering me?"

"I…I dunno." Chase softly stuttered.

"Nope. Try again."

The younger man sighed, knowing that he wouldn't stop questioning until he gave an acceptable answer.

"Well, I guess I figured that seeing a friendly face might help in your recovery."

'_It's not the entire truth but at least I'm not lying…technically.'_

"Better. Now, once more with feeling."

"What do you mean? I just told you…"

House suddenly grabbed Chase by the arm, bringing their stroll to a stop.

"And now I'm telling you that I want to hear the truth…the whole truth. What really brought you here?"

The firm grip on Chase's arm had yet to let go, its owner clearly resolving to get an answer he was satisfied with. He tried again to find an adequate response.

"Look House, there's no ulterior motive here. I came because I wanted to."

"Good. Now. Last time. Tell me."

The grip stayed the same but now the intensity of the bright blue eyes increased tenfold.

Chase was too stunned for a moment to move.

A stray thought flashed through his mind, making him wonder if somehow House mastered hypnosis from one of the therapists. His mind quickly snapped back to reality, however, as the grip on his arm tightened and pulled him forward.

Forward…right up close to the man in front of him.

The fluster in his stomach chose right then to return with a vengeance. Luckily, before the blush could spread over his face, he managed to finally break eye contact.

"Alright! Alright!"

Chase took a deep breath before continuing, "After you hung up the other night, something…something left me feeling uneasy. And no, it's not because of guilt. Not because of pity. Honestly, I still don't' know the reason why. So after thinking about it for awhile, I thought that maybe a good idea to figure it out would be to come here and see you."

House looked away while he digested this new information. The look on his face clearly told Chase that House was expecting to hear something completely different. He was about to ask about it when the other suddenly spoke.

"And? Any grand epiphanies?"

He paused as he decided whether or not to ask what House was just thinking, and then quickly realized that he wouldn't get an answer. Well, at least not today.

Instead he shrugged, "Not yet."

"Well, I guess you'll have to keep coming back until you figure it out."

And just like that the grip on his arm was released and he stood staring at House making his way back to the main building.

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That's all for now. Hope you guys still like it so far. I'll try to update soon. Please keep the reviews coming!

There will be slash coming soon too. Hang in there with me a little more.


	3. Chapter 3

I really really tried not to take this long to get this chapter out but work has kept me swamped. Sorry!!

First things first, big thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave reviews!! You guys are great! **THANKS!!**

But, of course, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to stop and read the story.

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**~~Chapter 3~~**

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"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Chase stopped chewing on his pencil as he recognized the voice of the person now standing in front of him. Quickly trying to figure out how to handle the unavoidable conversation to come, he looked up and answered with nothing but a polite neutral tone, "Sure, what can I help you with?"

Wilson observed Chase for a moment. To the other man's credit his expression gave nothing away. A small part of him had to admire the level of protectiveness he was going up against. Right now, however, it was just annoying and frustrating. "Look Chase…I know."

Displaying a look of confused innocence perfectly, Chase replied, "Know? Know what?"

"You know what. You can drop the act."

"Well, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to be a bit more specific." Chase wasn't willing to have this conversation and was trying to keep it that way.

After his first visit with House, he'd spent some time reflecting on it. And one sentence kept repeating a few times in between thoughts.

'_Well, I guess you'll have to keep coming back until you figure it out.'_

It was pointless to try and deny it was good advice. Really, it was the only idea at this point. And until this thing was figured out in his mind, there was only on other person who had the right to discuss this topic with him. Everyone else would just have to deal with it until then.

Scanning the doctors' lounge to make sure there was no one eavesdropping, Wilson continued with a sigh, "Fine, I'll be specific. I know you went to go see House."

"Okay." Chase replied simply as if confirming a standard medical treatment.

There was a brief stare down between both men before Wilson conceded.

"You're not going to budge on this, are you?"

"Nope." Chase said rising from the table and making his way to the door.

Just as he touched the door handle, Wilson spoke up again.

"Chase…understand that I want him to get better just as much as you do. And I realize there's nothing I can do to stop you. Just…be careful. You know the lengths he will go to get what he wants."

Chase stared at the closed door for a bit. His impulse was to say it was none of his business or that maybe he shouldn't of hung up the phone to begin with. Then he reminded himself that this was the last man who would intentionally hurt his closest friend. So instead he softly replied before leaving, "Thanks Wilson."

Thankfully, Chase managed to get by the rest of the week without any other confrontations. Although the occasional paranoia did manage to creep in whenever Foreman or Cameron mentioned House. He felt sure that one of them would sense something was up whenever they looked at him. He also felt a little guilty that he couldn't at least share how their former boss was doing. He knew that they cared for him and would've liked to know about his progress.

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The next drive up to Mayfield, Chase was completely relaxed even though he was no closer to finding answers. The confusion and unease was off set by the fact that 1. House was expecting him and 2. It was House who proposed the idea in the first place.

Just as he was signing the visitors' log, an unfamiliar voice spoke to him, "Dr. Chase?"

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Dr. Nolan, Head of Psychiatry. I wanted to properly introduce myself and welcome you to Mayfield."

Suspicion immediately flooded his mind as he stared at the man extending his hand toward him.

"Uh, hi. Nice to meet you." He replied hesitantly but shook his hand nonetheless.

You didn't have to be a genius to know Dr. Nolan had an agenda for this conversation. His entire demeanor was too passive. Even the polite smile being directed at him, was probably very effective in getting patients to share intimate information.

"Likewise. I had meant to introduce myself during the last visit but was detained for a patient consult. That's nothing new to you, I'm sure."

"Sure..."

"Speaking of which, I hear that you've been a colleague of Dr. House for a number of years. And the majority of that, you were actually on his team."

"That would be correct."

Just as with Wilson, Chase wasn't willing to help this man find what he was fishing for. Quickly scanning the room, he hoped to spot House to be able to excuse himself but had no luck.

Not missing a beat, Nolan continued, "Well, I must say that must have been a very unique and educating experience. No doubt you _saw_ and _heard_ many things of interest. I was wondering if you would be willing to let me pick your brain on a few subject matters."

Chase almost laughed at the man's attempts to gain information about House. At least, Wilson knew when to drop the act.

"So what do you say Dr. Chase? Would you be willing to help me out?"

"Hate to burst your bubble, _Doc…_"

Startled by House's voice, Chase looked to his right and found him sitting on the sofa next to them facing away.

_'Hands down, he has to be one of the stealthiest men on one good functioning leg.'_

"…but I believe the term 'visiting hours' applies to patients of this facility. I would suggest trying Craigslist if you're really that lonely." House continued as he put down the magazine he was pretending to read and walked next to where they were standing.

Nolan was unfazed by the comment as he looked between the two men, analyzing what he could.

"Well, then I'll leave you to it. Dr. Chase, it was nice to meet you. I hope we get a chance to talk soon."

Chase politely nodded as he shook the man's hand again.

"Seems like you're becoming Mr. Fascinating around here. Head Shrink wants to delve into that pretty cranium and see what he finds." House grumbled as Nolan walked away.

"Something I'm sure you were expecting. Frankly, I was surprised you didn't tell him you called dibs first."

"Why would I do that? That would be pretty childish, wouldn't it?" House mocked with his face scrunched in false curiosity.

"Right."

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Just like with the last visit, House steered them outside.

"No new revelations I take it."

"None yet. You?"

"Still a work in progress. Although I'll admit there have been other matters that have occupied my attention."

This time Chase brought the stroll to a halt.

"This other matter wouldn't happen to be related to your phone call the other night, would it? Tell me you're not still plotting to get yourself released early."

House immediately broke eye contact and looked off to the side like he normally did when someone called him on one of his schemes. Finally, he shrugged, "Well then I guess that only leaves my witty banter."

"Come on House. You don't need to do this. I offered to help with your rehab. I want to help."

"That's all well and good but the detox is over. I can handle the rest outpatient. I don't need to be here for that."

House was now trying to stare Chase down. However, it was having the opposite effect since Chase called him out.

"Yes, you actually do. You did this before. Remember Tritter? And now look what has happened. Look where you ended up again. Don't let your bloody pride get in the way."

"Oh ye of little faith." House continued to walk, meaning that he wanted the subject to change.

"My faith is fine and you're more than stubborn enough to stick this out."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

Chase held back a sigh of frustration. He needed to change tactics fast before House wore him down. He sped up to get in front, blocking the other man from going any further.

"Fine. If you don't want to seriously help yourself get better then I retract my offer. As much as I want to help, I'm not gonna waste the effort…which is exactly what's gonna happen if you keep pulling the same stunts."

"Hmmm, playing the ultimatum card so soon? How very Wilson of you."

House tilted his head in curiosity.

"Is that where this is coming from? You're just the puppet while he pulls your strings."

"Wow, paranoid much?" Chase scoffed. "Sorry to disappoint you. Even though I know you'd _love_ that to be true. That way you could justify your scheming."

As much as he would've liked it, unfortunately, House could tell he wasn't being lied to. But now he saw a different opportunity appear.

"Fine, you made your point but while we're on the topic…what did good old Jimmy have to say? I'm sure he tracked you down right away once he caught wind of what happened."

All he got from Chase was an eye roll followed by, "Of course he did and you know exactly what he said. Now stop changing the subject. Quit scheming and let me help."

By this point, he was standing up close right in House's personal space. House chose not to respond but instead went to go walk around him. Now it was Chase's turn to not let House leave until he got the answer he wanted. He immediately grabbed his waist to keep him from moving. The grip started out a little firmer than intended, as he was unprepared to feel the fluster in his stomach return the second he touched House.

"House…" he softly said as a last plea.

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'_Shit.'_ This was the only thought that came to House as he felt his resolve to not give in crumbled away as those soft blue eyes simply stared at him.

"Stop flirting with me just so you can get your way. It's cheap and completely unbecoming of you."

He hoped that would be enough to get some space away from the blond. The close proximity added with the hand resting _way too_ comfortably on his hip was causing his nerves to rattle as his thoughts started drifting to a more inappropriate place.

Chase automatically smiled at House's playful tone and expression. But he knew this talk wasn't quite finished yet.

"So is that a yes? No more scheming?"

"Alright, fine. We'll try it your way." was the reply with an exaggerated eye roll.

At this point, House didn't care that he totally caved. He just wanted to move on from this situation for the moment so he could clear his head without Chase being the wiser.

The smile turned into a smirk as Chase paused and said, "I'm going to hug you now."

Just like the last time, he wrapped his arms around the other man before anything could be said or done. But what happened next was completely different than either could expect.

Chase had, in fact, sensed House's nervousness. He figured the hug would snap him out of it and a smart-ass remark would follow. However, a second later, he should've remembered his own fluster of nerves. Chase's senses seemed to hit overdrive as he breathed in House's scent.

The next that followed was the feel of the body that pressed against him. Like he remembered, House still had a toned but not overly firm physic. It made you feel comforted and protected at the same time.

Oddly, these feelings didn't have him running for the hills like he would've imagined. Yes, there was a tiny nagging voice reminding him that this was House…his ex-boss…his very male ex-boss. Chase's history of experimentation only consisted of one random make out session one drunken night at a bar. It was a while after he arrived in the states and was trying to fill what had become a regularly lonely nightlife. The experience wasn't bad at all but he soon lost interest because his heart wasn't in it.

After a moment, Chase managed to pull himself out of his thoughts to realize that House had yet to make a sarcastic remark or say anything for that matter.

"House?" he asked softly almost afraid that he would spook him. Instead, a startled gasp escaped from his own mouth as he felt a firm squeeze around his waist from where House's arm was resting. He didn't even realize that it had been wrapped around him for a while now.

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I'm leaving you hanging, I know....Not trying to be mean.....Hope you guys still like where this story is going.

Feedback Please!!!

Good news is that the next chapter is about half way done so I should have it up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Continued thanks for those reading and reviewing!

Sad that the season 6 is over :( But so many great scenes like always.

Who would've guessed House, Chase, and Foreman would be singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" together? Absolutely love those scenes.

[] From Episode 19 "The Choice" []

Chase: "Drinks are on me and Foreman tonight."

House: "Sorry. Pap smear."

Chase: "We didn't want to do it either but Wilson already paid us."

House: "Its gonna suck."

Chase: "…I know."

House: "Where and when."

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**~~Chapter 4~~**

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Dumb was not a word that anyone would associate with House. And as egotistical as it sounded no one knew this better than House himself. This meant he was very well aware of his growing attraction to Chase over the years.

Before bringing him on to the team, of course House knew how smart Chase was but what really put icing on the cake was the first time he laid eyes on the wombat. He remembered thinking he'd have someone with more than half a brain and something pretty to look at.

Stupidly, he didn't realize the other man had managed to wiggle his way into House's thoughts and feelings until it was too late. By then, he tried anything possible to distract his mind, which is where Cuddy came into play, but it still wasn't enough.

So he took the only opportunity he could to best distance himself from Chase and ended up firing him. Not his proudest moment but self-preservation ultimately won out.

Now all that time and distance was wiped away the moment he felt Chase pressed up against him. It seemed like they were both designed to fit perfectly with each other. House allowed himself to absorb the feel of the lean body.

However, his attention was immediately diverted yet again when he felt Chase lightly nuzzle his neck, right below his left ear. Having nothing else to hang onto, House wrapped his arm around Chase's waist for some irrational fear that he would lose his balance. Right as he regained an ounce of control and began to open his mouth, Chase beat him to it.

"House?"

The word was breathed right into his ear, causing House to shiver unconsciously as well as tighten his grip on Chase.

As a result, the blond let out a small gasp in surprise. Again, he felt a shiver travel down his spine.

A few seconds later, House was finally able to reel in his hormones. Letting out an obvious cough he said, "I thought I told you to stop flirting with me."

He felt Chase tense up and then slowly pull away to glance at House. There was a slight look of concern as he tried to determine if the older man was being serious.

Never passing up an opportunity to mess with someone, House kept his face blank. However, that quickly turned into a smirk as he noted Chase's worry increasing. To his amusement, it had the desired effect as he watched the worried brows unfurrow, raise slightly in question, and then finally lower as he figured it out.

"Asshole." Chase muttered, trying to sound irritated but failed miserably. It was impossible due to the face that House still had his arm very well situated around his waist.

A loud bell chime suddenly interrupted House's smart-ass response.

Chase had learned from the last visit the bell was signaling that visiting hours were coming to a close.

The sound brought them back to reality like being splashed with a bucket of ice water.

Chase watched House's tell tale signs of social discomfort. Head tilted down…looking off to the side, breaking eye contact.

"Time to go." He finally said, hand dropping from Chase's waist.

Chase didn't say anything as he looked at House, hoping he would catch his eye and get back the connection that was just there. But in true stubborn fashion, the other man would do no such thing.

"Fine." Chase muttered, jaw clenched and taking a step back, arms returning to his sides.

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The walk back to the main building was completed silent. Each man was trying to digest the last few moments.

Originally, Chase was content to keep quiet while holding on the anger and frustration that only House could cause. That was until his stupid memory flashed back…

…warmth of the arm around his waist…

…being pressed firmly against House…

…that smug smirk…

_'I can't believe I'm simultaneously attracted and pissed off. Blood bastard.'_

And now with that thought distracting him, the anger slowly started deflating like air from a balloon. The sympathetic side of his nature kicked in.

If this had been happening to Cameron, he would've been the first to remind her that this was House. You could literally count on one hand the number of people the diagnostician truly trusted. Not to mention said man was currently residing in a mental institute, definitely not a desirable setting to pursue any real intimate relationship.

With House being cut off from the outside world, it left him too much time to be alone with his thoughts. Too much time to talk himself out of taking any chances. Yet with all this knowledge, Chase didn't feel any more deterred.

'_That must make me crazy on some level. Well at least that gives us another thing in common.'_ Chase thought, feeling his patience renew.

They had now reached the main building and just as he was about to walk in, a gentle tug on his wrist stopped him. Turning, he found a pair of bright blue and very determined eyes staring back at him.

"Wait…"

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Instinct was a funny thing sometimes. It's meant to protect you, to keep you alive and kicking. But what do you do when your instincts protect you _too_ well.

The bell chime had sent his senses into full alert and he had backed away from Chase before he could even realize what he was doing. It was like his body went on autopilot. Not that it should be surprising, considering how many years since he had been with anyone, mainly Stacy.

House felt a slight twinge in his chest when he heard Chase mutter before starting to walk back to the main building without giving him a second glance.

His brain went into diagnostic mode as he caught up and fell into step with the Aussie. The main mystery that needed to be answered was whether or not to make amends for his error and there by allowing this thing between them to continue to progress.

It was easy to tell from his physical reactions that his body certainly had no objection. A fact that he tried to disregard but knew he couldn't.

The smart and logical choice would be to leave things as they've always been. Eventually, he would come up with a way out of this place. Scheming was one of his well-known attributes after all. He would get back to his own world. No gratitude would be given to anyone but himself.

On the other hand, thinking like that contributed to where he currently ended up. And being in Mayfield was not where he wanted to stay. He had made up his mind by the time they reached the back of the main building and grabbed Chase by the wrist to stop him from entering. He knew he had to get this out now.

"Wait…"

When Chase turned around, House expected to be faced with an angry or frustrated glare. Interestingly, he only saw a patiently waiting stare that he would typically see from the blonde when they used to work together.

"…there's something you need to know before you leave…thanks…for the help and for coming here…I know I don't make it easy…so thanks."

Chase stared at him taking in what was just said. House thanking someone and admitting one of his faults at the same time was rare to say the least. And not only was he hearing it, the words were being spoken directly at him.

'_Who knew I'd ever be standing in this spot?'_

After that thought, he finally realized that House was waiting for some kind of reply.

"No, you don't," he smirked, "and you're welcome. I'll see you next week House."

Intentionally this time, Chase moved forward and gave House a brief hug.

"Stay out of trouble," he said lightly before giving the older man a quick squeeze.

Flashing him one more smile, Chase turned and made his way to the front entrance.

Not moving from his spot, House watched until Chase vanished from sight.

"Next week," House murmured to himself.

"Hey Roomie!" he heard before Alvie crash landed next to him coming from who knows which direction.

"So what's the word from Big Bird? Any updates for Operation Bust Out? Gonna cut the power and we make a break for it? Something like that, huh?"

House waited until he saw Alvie would stay still for more than two seconds before replying, "The next step is to play nice and follow along."

"I don't get it," Alvie said immediately confused, "How is that the next step? It's not really a step. More like the opposite of a step or laying down even."

"Sorry Charlie. We're standing down. So says the bird."

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"Tell me about Dr. Chase."

"Oh come on. Really? I thought you shrinks were supposed to be subtler. Spying from the windows were we? Doesn't inspire much in the doctor/patient confidence."

"Didn't realize that it was that much of a secret. I also wasn't aware that you and Dr. Chase were close."

"We're not."

"Close enough for him to come visit repeatedly."

"Two times."

"Still. You had two other members formerly on your team from what I know. Neither of them has come to visit."

"What exactly are you fishing for?"

"I would simply like to hear from you personally about your relationship with Dr. Chase."

"I think the intel you've gathered is sufficient. Or is your file in need of some juicy details for your late night reading sessions? I don't blame you. Personally I think it's the hair that does it."

"I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that your attempts to deflect are just as telling as if you were having an honest conversation. Only difference is that it takes a little longer to get to the point."

"Well good, as long as we're both getting something out of it."

"I'm curious, what do you think will happen if you share the details of your life?"

"Absolutely nothing. Therefore, there's no point in wasting my breath."

Nolan let out a small smirk as if he was expecting that very answer. "If that's the case, then I would assume you would mind indulging me. If you're right, then you will be no worse off and we can finish for the day. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere pressing to be…which won't be anytime soon until _I_ say so."

House immediately frowned as Nolan proved his point. It was so much easier to get his way at work while being irrational because there were no real consequences to face.

He fiddled with his cane for a bit, trying to piece together what to say.

It had been a few days since Chase left and House had actually kept his promise to not scheme. He even made an effort to participate in the next day's group session. In reality, he still wasn't 100 percent sure about what his final decision would be but figured it was the smarter play for the time being.

Which is presently why he didn't want to deal with Nolan's "request". Ultimately, though, he needed to give him something to get him off his back for today.

"Chase…was the first one I hired. When he first started he was an approval seeking push over. Naturally, this suited me just fine."

"And now?"

House shrugged, hoping to down play his feelings.

"He took in what I was able to teach him. Learned how to handle the highly complicated cases and became a better doctor along the way."

Nolan nodded in a typical non-judgmental way for a psychiatrist.

"Good…good. Now how about personally? Aside from the working environment, have you and Dr. Chase interacted socially outside of the hospital?"

House rolled his eyes up the ceiling as if he really had to think back to remember.

"There was the occasional drink or two as well as a few trips to the bowling alley."

"Uh huh. Was there anyone else there besides the two of you?"

Again, House fiddled with his cane, holding back a sarcastic reply.

"Nope."

"Not even Wilson?"

House let out a short exhale in frustration, not liking where the conversation was going.

"Wilson and I weren't exactly seeing eye to eye at the time."

"You mean after Amber died."

House briefly clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times.

"Right."

"So why did you decide to invite Dr. Chase and not one of the other two?"

"Approval seeking push over, remember? Why else?"

Nolan slightly smirked as if he were waiting for that question.

"Well…one could say that there's a little bit more to it. That Wilson is someone who you have the highest confidence in. Someone who you've allowed to see you at your absolute worst and still trust to not abandon you. And with Amber's death, you realized, in Wilson's absence, you would have to reach out to another."

"Wow! You really should set up one of those booths at a carnival. How do you know that Chase just wasn't the first one to walk into the room?"

"Because you are not a man of chance, House. You are a man of absolutes. Clearly, this is not a one sided matter either. He appears to be almost as protective of you as you are of him. Not that I have to tell you but it was clear when I introduced myself the other day."

"And I'm happy that you're feeling proud. Are we done?"

"Just one last question…Is Dr. Chase currently involved with anyone? Romantically, that is."

House paused while getting up from his chair as he heard the question.

"How exactly is this relevant? Plus, I really don't think you're his type."

"Just curious for the moment. Is he?" Nolan shrugged and stared patiently for the answer.

House felt the muscle in his cheek twitch in result of how tight his jaw was clenched.

"No." he ground out.

Nolan smiled in satisfaction.

"See you next session."

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Thanks again to everyone for sticking with the story! Good news is I can definitely say the next chapter is going to be a lot juicier.

As always love any reviews that come in, so please don't be shy :)


	5. Chapter 5

Finally! Going from a T to M rating.

Quick disclaimer (just in case):

Don't read if m/m is not you're cup of tea.

Hope you enjoy ;)

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**~~Chapter 5~~**

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The faint sound of music was the first thing to rouse him from his sleep. It was a familiar sound that he was unable to identify through the haziness of his brain. It only took a few seconds before an unsettling feeling began to nag him.

From there his mind quickly started to regain full consciousness as he recognized the feeling meant that something wasn't right. Finally, opening his eyes, fear slammed into the pit of his stomach.

He was back in his bedroom…at his apartment.

Out of habit, House reached over to shut off the radio alarm that had originally woken him. Sitting up, he tried to figure out what the hell was happening.

He remembered without a doubt falling asleep in his room at Mayfield. Even remembered throwing one of his paperbacks at Alvie again to get him stop rhyming so that he could get some sleep.

Immediately, House grabbed the phone from his nightstand but ended up staring at it, trying to decide whom to call. The phone then became the furthest thing from his mind as soon as he heard the bathroom door open and close.

All he could do next was sit and stare when Chase, clad only in boxers, shuffled into the room before proceeding to climb on the unoccupied side of the bed.

Chase paused from full lying on the bed when he realized that House was sitting up and staring at him.

"Why are you up so early?" he asked in all honesty.

Still disoriented, House simply said, "Alarm went off."

"Oh, ok." Chase said slowly, now having the same look of confusion as the man next to him, "Are you alright?"

House could only think to say one thing.

"What happened last night?"

Chase cocked his head slightly as if trying to determine if there was more complexity to the simple question.

"Well…I would say that it was typical of most nights. I tried to go to sleep and you, with your never ending hormones, made sure that didn't happen."

Finally, it magically clicked to House after he heard what he needed to hear in order for the puzzle pieces to come together.

"Typical of most nights."

He murmured the one phrase that was helping him see the big answer. A small smile appeared as he now believed he knew what was going on.

Chase carried on like he didn't notice House's grand epiphany.

"Oh, please. Don't pretend like you don't get your way more than mine."

Unable to control his curiosity to find out if he was right or not, he replied, "Fine…show me your way."

Almost as if in slow motion, House saw Chase rise to sit up beside him and then scoot over until their legs brushed against each other.

Remaining frozen in place, he let Chase continue. The blonde reached up to cup his jaw and lightly stroke House's cheek with his thumb.

The all too familiar shiver ran through House at the sensation.

"Take off your shirt and lie back down." Chase commanded quietly.

Seeing no doubt or hesitation in the pale blue eyes, House complied with both orders.

Every nerve in his body had never been more alert until now when Chase settled himself on top of House, straddling his left leg. Not realizing that he was half hard already, House shut his eyes and hissed in pleasure when Chase's body made contact. The hiss quickly turned into a grunt when he felt the other man's pelvis rock against his arousal.

Tortuously, it stopped just as soon as it began. Every nerve ending buzzed in protest though out his body. Out of need, House clutched Chase, trying to encourage him to continue however unsuccessfully.

Instead, he felt a fingertip grazing down his neck to his collarbone and then ended up circling his nipple. House started panting when the delicious feeling of a tongue traced where the fingers had just been.

Happily, he felt Chase move over to give the other the same attention and continue on following the trail back up to nuzzle the sweet spot under his ear.

"Open your eyes."

With a faint sigh of frustration, House pried his eyes open.

It turned out to be worth the effort when he saw the heated look Chase was giving him. Not able to wait for another instruction, House reached up to run his hand through the dangling blonde locks above before firmly grabbing a handful and pulling Chase to him.

Surprisingly delightful, the lips that met him were the perfect combination of soft and firm. He savored all that he could before sliding his tongue along Chase's bottom lip, asking for permission to enter the uncharted territory ahead.

He ignored his body's screaming impulses and instead, slowly mapped out the layout of Chase's mouth with his tongue. House's efforts didn't go unnoticed as he felt the rumble of a moan deep within the chest that was pressed against him.

His satisfaction was short lived when Chase's hand slipped between them and squeezed his completely hard erection through his boxers.

House growled into Chase's mouth before gripping another handful of hair and yanking his head back. The younger man released another gasp at the pleasure of the force.

"Not fair Robbie."

Using Chase's first name came out easier than he would've imagined.

"What can I say? I learned from the best."

He smirked down at him, eyes twinkling with a playful challenge.

House quickly hooked his good leg around Chase's leg and used the leverage to roll him onto his back.

Without another word, both sets of lips locked onto each other again. This time it was Chase who attempted to search out every crevice with his tongue.

Finally feeling as if he would pass out from oxygen deprivation, House broke away but continued to look at the handsome man underneath him.

Both were panting heavily in excitement with no ability to form a coherent thought.

Only one word came from Chase.

"Now."

He quickly understood and stared as the blonde removed his boxers before discarding his own.

Now with Chase positioned perfectly, House had to stop, not only to admire the body below but he also knew something was missing. Looking around the room for a few moments, he grinned when he saw the bottle of lube conveniently sitting on top of the nightstand.

He squirted out a good amount on his first two fingers and then proceeded to spread it across Chase's opening causing him to yelp in surprise at the cold sensation. Moaning quickly followed as he slid both fingers in and began slowly stretching him.

A short while after he'd gotten the third finger in, a slight nod let House know that he was ready.

No chemical substance on Earth could've prepared him for the high he felt next. He made sure to stop every few inches, not only so he wouldn't explode too early but also that he wasn't forgetting about Chase.

However, the Aussie seemed to be wrapped up in his own pleasure…eyes closed, cheeks flushed, and head arched back.

House took the opportunity to sample the neck displayed before him while sinking his cock the last inch in. When he reached the spot just above Chase's collarbone, he wonderfully discovered this caused him to clamp down his anal muscles.

A growl escaped from his throat and he slowly started to thrust in and out of the perfectly creamy firm bottom. Soon after he felt Chase's legs wrap around his hips. This allowed him to slip in a little deeper than before and also brush against the blonde's prostate.

"Yes…Again! Right there! Again!"

House obliged the pleas again, brushing over the same spot again resuming to thrust all the way in and out.

Both bodies fell into rhythm and House began to pick up the pace, ignoring the beginning stages of discomfort in his leg. It was worth it hearing the cries coming from Chase's mouth.

"Ohhh! Don't stop! Harder Greg! Please harder!"

Three more hard thrusts, Chase yelled as he came. House grunted as the muscles surrounding his cock clamped down hard around him and he started to come along with his lover.

While riding the waves of euphoria, House started to feel light headed.

"Robbie…" He breathed, burying his face in the crook of Chase's neck, all muscles in his body content on not moving anytime in the near future.

He could make out that Chase trying to talk to him but his voice was rapidly becoming fainter so that nothing was understandable, instead, being replaced with an increasingly louder beeping noise. The room started to spin as the beeping got louder and got worse the louder it got.

Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, everything came to a sudden halt.

**"HOUSE!"**

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He shot up in bed, panting heavily, feeling his heart banging against his chest. House looked around his surroundings getting his bearings again.

…paper thin sheets and scratchy blanket covering his legs…

…the open doorway a few feet away from the foot of the bed…

…sounds of activity floating from down the hallways…

Looking to his left, hoping to be proven wrong but knew he wasn't, he found himself staring at a white wall that was right up against the single size bed he was currently sitting in…alone.

When a hand landed on his shoulder, he whipped around startled. However, he came face to face with a different person than he was expecting.

"What is it?" House grumbled.

"Hey buddy…" Alvie answered slightly nervous at the glare House was giving him, "…just coming to get you…for…you know…group time."

House nodded which signaled Alvie to leave but continued to sit there until he was composed enough to put the dream in the back of his mind.

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I was going to make this part of another chapter but I wanted to give you guys a taste at least!

Again, many many thanks to everyone who stopped by!


	6. Chapter 6

As always, many many many many thanks to those who continue to stick with the story.

I honestly hadn't meant to keep you all hanging for this long. Writers' block is no fun at all! I finally got through it watching old seasons of House.

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~Chapter 6~

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'_Idiot. Short psycho shrink prick.'_

For the last 10 minutes, House sat on his bed, hands twisting around his cane imagining it was a certain weasel faced hack doctor.

Needless to say, he was in no mood to share any personal feelings after being woken up from his very "active" dream.

Like Alvie, everyone sensed his mood and left him alone during the session. By the end though, he'd had enough time to decompress and get back to normal. Hell, he actually got some of the others to play a couple rounds of bullshit.

It seemed like the rest of the day was shaping up to be tolerable. Of course all that was quickly dismissed when Medina came into sight and headed straight for Freedom Master.

It was easy to see that no good would come from it.

Fast forward to the present to find him stewing in angry frustration. Even more so since he stood by and essentially did nothing.

Now the kid was drugged up to the gills…just one step above being a vegetable.

A knock on his door broke through his festering thoughts. Looking up, he saw Chase leaning against the doorway. He could do nothing but stare as flashes of this morning's dream came hurtling back.

'_Don't stop! Harder Greg! Please harder!'_

Not believing it was possible; his frustration reached a new level, mixing desire and violent anger.

House's tension was completely palpable the moment he saw him. Chase had knocked hoping to break his focus and possibly change the mood. Not to mention, he didn't want to appear to be spying in case House noticed he was already there.

Instead, the tension seemed to increase when the sharp blue eyes were drawn to where he was standing.

Not waiting for permission to enter, Chase came into the room concerned.

"You alright?" He said standing by the foot of the bed.

He went to go take another step closer when House bolted up from the bed.

"Let's go." He growled and left the room without looking back.

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Not surprising to Chase, they ended up walking around the grounds again. He suspected that it helped House relax being in an open area and away from the watchful eyes of the facility staff.

They were half way around the area when Chase finally spoke up.

"It's time to tell me what's happened. You looked like you were about to have a stroke back there."

House let out an annoyed huff before speaking.

"There's a pencil pushing quack treating patients with textbook procedures and expecting it to work."

"Who's the patient?"

"A kid who says that he's a superhero, trying to save all the good people he comes across."

"Has he always believed he was a superhero or was this triggered by a specific event?"

And just like that, it was as if they were both transported back to the diagnostic conference room.

"Wife was murdered. He wasn't there when it happened."

"What did the doctor do?"

"Tried to force him to see reality by pressuring him into doing something that a regular human being couldn't possibly do on their own. All he did was make it worse."

"He got violent?"

"No. He diverted his attention to another one of the patients. Said he knew how to 'save' her. That's when the moron stepped in. Now the kid is drugged out of his mind and not in the good way."

They walked for a bit in silence as both processed the situation that occurred.

However, something still seemed off to Chase.

"Is that all that happened?"

"Does there have to be more?" House shot back.

"No…I didn't mean it that way…but when I walked in your room earlier…it seemed like seeing me triggered something else."

'_Damn wombat really was too perceptive sometimes.'_ House huffed in annoyance.

"I guess it's possible that I might've had a dream last night where you and I were the key players."

House looked at Chase to gauge his reaction but the other man had yet to pick up on what was said.

"Ok…"

The force to get out each word was practically unbearable.

"…it took place in a bedroom. Mine to be specific."

"…and…"

"…things happened…bedroom things…"

Chase threw his hands up in utter confusion. He'd never known House to dance around a conversation like this.

"Listen, I have no bloody clue what you're talking about. Just tell me House."

"You. Me. In a bedroom. In a bed. Use your imagination!"

Like a timer going off on a bomb, a flood of images assaulted him and Chase finally understood. His mouth opened and closed for a bit with only air passing through.

"Oh."

House looked away as he let the younger man internally digest his thoughts.

"So you and I were…together?"

"Yup."

"…_all_ the way together?"

"Let me put it this way, if we were anymore together we would've been classified as Siamese twins."

Involuntarily, Chase's mind began creating images based off that last comment. The surprisingly vivid scenes that assaulted him threw him off so much that he stopped walking. The most he had though about House for the past week had only been imaging mundane situations away from the hospital.

Watching TV on the couch.

Eating dinner together.

Listening to each other's favorite music.

Maybe some thoughts of kissing slipped in but it never went further than that. This was mainly because he still wasn't truly sure of House's interest in him.

His past track record certainly hadn't inspired much confidence.

First Stacy, then Cameron, and lastly, Cuddy.

It still didn't make any sense.

'_Why me now?'_

"Wait. So you find me attractive? In _that_ way? Seriously?"

House could feel the tension in his shoulders lessen. Although there was confusion in Chase's voice, it was out of surprised curiosity, not disgust. He was almost tempted to say that it was cute the confused way Chase was looking at him. Not to mention the fact an obviously blush had spread through out his face.

"Well, duh, what do you think all those comments about your looks have been about?"

It was clear that House was preparing to not stay delved in the conversation for too long in case it would go somewhere he didn't like. Given what was just revealed, now wasn't the time to let him off the hook.

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"House…"

Just like the other day, Chase walked right up into House's personal space. This effectively stopped whatever smart ass remark was about to be said.

"…its you and me out here. You can be serious about this right now."

A small part of House wanted to indulge Chase but his vocal cords felt as if they had snapped shut.

Chase could see flashes of House's internal struggle in his face. He tried to think of what to say or do that would encourage him to take that final leap. Not wanting to waste any time, he took a deep breath and prayed he would be saying the right thing.

"I'll be with you in this…all the way. Just tell me you're on board too. We'll figure out the details later."

House started to speak when he heard the words that sounded too good to be true. Unfortunately, his voice was still paralyzed by his natural skepticism. Luckily, the one other trait that matched the strength of his skepticism was his stubbornness. Drawing encouragement from his dream, House slid his arm around Chase's waist and drew him closer until they were touching chest to chest.

The gasp that came out of Chase followed by the feel of his heartbeat that seemed to want to explode from his chest gave House the final push. A split second later found his lips firmly pressed against Chase's.

With that large hurtle passed, the feeling of anxiety dissipated enough that House could focus on the sensations flooding through him. The kiss remained gentle as he wanted to savor the reality of the situation.

The feel of Chase's lips, just as he imagined, moving in sync with his own. The feel of Chase's lean body pressed close. The distinct scent of Chase that was a mix of fresh laundry along with something else unidentifiable but appealing just the same. And lastly, the feeling of Chase holding him back with the same intensity.

Chase basked in the excitement that hummed throughout his body. He was more than pleased to say the least at where their conversation had taken them. The first sensation of firm lips accompanied by stubble brushing against his skin unexpectedly intrigued him as it certainly left him wanting more.

With one last kiss, House slowly pulled slightly apart from Chase but definitely kept him in a loose embrace. Impulse passed, he immediately started analyzing the situation and all the downward turns he could anticipate occurring.

Chase chose to keep his eyes closed when the contact was broken from his lips. He enjoyed feeling the excited energy in him fade to a simmer. Shortly after a tantalizingly slow sweep of his lips did his light blue eyes reveal themselves.

Not surprisingly, he found himself being studied. A smirk grew on his face, thinking of his luck to have had all those years to develop his own House cipher. If this had been someone else standing here, recently introduced to the brilliant diagnostician, the poor bastard would've committed shortly after.

"Give your brain a rest House. Save all those pessimistic thoughts for another time. You're killing the nice buzz I'm feeling."

House couldn't help but mirror the lazy grin that was standing in front of him.

"Are you planning on being this bossy all the time?"

Chase sobered himself up for a moment.

"If it means that you actually listen to me and it gets you out of her faster, then yes."

Not wanting to kill the mood entirely, he added.

"But maybe I won't have to be as bossy now that I know you have the hots for me. I'm pretty sure this means I have some new tactics at my disposal."

House let out a soft chuckle at his playful arrogance.

"Silly wombat. You're forgetting a very crucial piece of information. Those tactics are a two-way street."

To prove his point, House slid a hand under Chase's sweater and lightly stroked the skin of his lower back. Smugly, he wasn't disappointed by the younger man's reaction.

_A slight shiver up the spine._

_A quiet gasp.  
_

_Pupils dilated._

_Hands tightening their clutch on his shoulders._

Chase muttered a barely audible curse.

"Bastard."

His eyes closed as the hand on his skin had yet to break contact. Just when his knees started to buckle, the desire to remain passive crashed instantaneously. Without hesitation, Chase curled his hands around House's neck and pulled him forward until both sets of lips were mashed together. While the first kiss was pleasant in its own right, the next one got straight to business.

Although he would never voice it, House was surprised that Chase was as equally attracted to him. As confident he acted and claimed to be, he knew Chase could virtually have his pick of anyone, female and male, to be involved with.

In the world of diagnostics, his world, the seemingly unknowns almost always had an answer or reason for their cause. That was when a conversation from years ago echoed in his mind.

_'I'm twice your age. I'm not that great looking. I'm not charming. I'm not even nice.'_

Those were the words he'd said to Cameron on their first and only date. Still he believed the words held the same weight today. House mentally slapped himself for pulling his attention away. Regardless of their differences, Chase just seemed to fit with him like no one else.

The insecurities quieted themselves for the time being. Thankfully, his very brief distraction went unnoticed by Chase, who was very engaged at his current task. This also led House to find that he was more than happy to let Chase and his very skilled mouth take the lead.

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Not a surprise, they were interrupted again by the sound of a very loud and increasingly despised bell ringing.

Finally coming up for air, both men slowly detached from their embrace.

"I'm gonna dismantle that damn bell if it's the last thing I do."

Chase smiled in agreement.

"I actually might not stop you on that one."

Without needing to say anything else, they started to make their way back to the main building.

About halfway back, Chase remembered what they had originally started talking about when he first arrived.

"So…now that we have one thing settled…well, as settled as it's gonna be for now, what about the other thing that was bothering you? The doctor and…Freedom Master, was it?"

"Now now Robbie. Don't go all Judge Judy on me. After all we didn't grow up like you, eating kangaroos while chugging down a Fosters."

Chase rolled his eyes but let the comment slide.

"You know I don't care what his name is. What were you thinking about doing?

"What do you mean?"

"Well, obviously, you are upset about how the guy was being treated and the fact that you were passive about the whole situation. I've never known you to sit back and do nothing while a patient was being mistreated, even when they were someone else's patient."

"As I recall, you made me promise not to do anything."

"I was talking about your scheming. This is another matter entirely. If you or I can help this guy, then we should do what we can."

House looked at Chase briefly, then toward the doorway, and nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, he was still at an impasse as to what his plan of action was.

"I need more time to talk to the kid and get this figured out."

"Alright then I should be heading off."

"Yeah, guess so."

Truthfully, both were hesitant as to how to say goodbye. Chase finally decided to go in for a hug but right before letting go, he quickly placed a discrete kiss on House's neck.

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I'm going to really try and get the story moving along in the next chapter. All goes well and House should be making his way back home! Yay!

Please please please keep the reviews coming. Any suggestions on what you like or want to see more of are always welcome!


	7. Chapter 7

Can't believe it's been over 4 months since I last updated!

Many continued thanks to everyone who is still reading and take the time to leave reviews! This was originally going to be one very long chapter but still seeing this fic getting added as a story alert or favorite story I wanted to give you guys something sooner than later.

I'm going to do everything I can to finish this story!

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~~Chapter 7~~

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For the sake of appearance, House did nothing extra out of character to avoid suspicion. The only minuet change that no one seemed to notice was that he strategically put himself with Freedom Master in his line of sight whenever possible.

One thing was for sure, the kid was getting worse by the day. His behavior pattern was like a light switch.

The majority of the day he sat in catatonic state but then would start to look edgy as if anticipating to be attacked. It was the latter behavior that got House thinking.

Although he knew it might blow his cover, the next stop was to get in closer contact with Freedom Master. Waiting for the "a-ha" light bulb actually came quicker than expected as he stood by the window.

House felt his mouth twitch upwards at seeing a familiar convertible pull up with a cello case sticking out the back.

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Like taking candy from a baby.

House mused over this phrase while watching the Mayfield building getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

'_Really…who hands their car over to a relative stranger? Not only that but a stranger who's in a mental institution!'_

Of course he knew he shouldn't grumble too much since people like that made it easy to get what he wanted.

**Twenty Minutes Later**

"You can do this. If you hold my hand, I can do it too."

A loud whirling sound started followed by a strong gust of wind that rushed up from below their feet. The gust then shortly became powerful enough to slowly lift them completely off the platform.

House did nothing to resist the joy he was feeling. He took his time savoring the view of the carnival grounds that they were now hovering over at least a good thirty feet.

At his side Freedom Master mirrored the same exhilaration. House had to admit that seeing the lively spark in the kid's face added to his own good feeling.

The natural high refused to wear off even after they touched back on the ground. Definitely not ready to leave, House made his way over to the game booths with Freedom Master happily following while running around him in circles.

Realistically knowing their time was limited; he quickly skimmed the potential prizes and froze when he spotted a giant kangaroo. Grinning, he made his way over to the booth. House couldn't wait to see the look on Chase's face next visit.

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**Another Twenty Minutes Later**

The car ride back to Mayfield had been virtually silent.

Freedom Master sat in back aware of the tension that filled the air. Chase was a mix of worried, concerned, and angry.

Worry for the man in the back seat who he just managed to pull away from jumping out of a third level parking garage.

Concern for House's silent state after they were sure no one was seriously harmed.

And anger at House's need to go to the extreme to prove his point no matter what the consequence might be.

Chase purposely stopped himself from thinking what would've happened had he arrived five minutes later. Instead, he brought his attention to the fact that House had yet to utter one word.

'_Hey! Hey, come on. Get down from there! There's no cry for help. There's no cat in a tree.'_

'_Thank you Greg.'_

'_NO!'_

It was all a jumble of blurred images now. Just like the row of trees he numbly watched whizzing by his passenger window.

No warning bells had gone off in his mind. He was so caught up in his pride that his instinct had failed to pick up that anything bad was about to happen.

A gentle pressure on his hand brought him out of his trance. House became focused at the sight of Chase's hand grasping his. The normally smooth pale skin was now bruised and covered with scrapes.

"Talk to me House."

"Something still isn't adding up."

It was the only statement House could share with any certainty. Mentally, he kept working on lifting the fog in his mind until he discovered that one thought of clarity.

Catching a movement from the corner of his eye, House turned toward the back. He watched as the kid rubbed his head like he was trying to physically force an unpleasant thought out.

A small jolt of excitement began to charge up within.

"A new symptom."

"What do you mean?"

By this time, they had reached their destination and Chase was now able to give House his full focus.

Meanwhile, House was locked onto his new discovery and running through all the medical scenarios until he began honing in on the most plausible one.

"I mean that I was wrong. The problem isn't in his head…it's what is being put into it."

Chase was already dreading his next question.

"You think he's being medicated to be like this on purpose?"

"It fits. There's no reason for his behavior to deteriorate this steadily from when he was admitted."

"You don't know that for sure House. He just tried to fling himself out of the parking garage!"

"Exactly my point! Why would he try to fly now? Why not before at where ever he worked or the roof of a crappy apartment?"

"Maybe he did! You don't know his history!" Chase cried exasperated.

House stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the outburst.

"Right…because we both know how often I've hinged my decisions on the lack of patient history."

Chase took a second to steady his breathing.

"This is not the same and you know it. At the hospital, we could run whatever labs and scans we needed to help make up for what we didn't know. You're flying blind on this one."

House snapped back to look at Chase, clear irritation visible as always when anyone tires to talk down to him.

"Let me guess! This is where you tell me to leave it alone and focus on my own problems!"

Chase practically growled at House's patronizing tone.

"Don't fuckin' talk to me like I'm Cameron! Even you can't ignore what just happened. What if I didn't show up? If he jumped? If he died? What do you think they would've done to you then?"

Not able to remain sitting feeling trapped, Chase got out and began pacing behind the car.

Freedom Master had stayed silent since they arrived having felt the tension between the two men. So he took this as his cue to slip out and headed inside.

House found he could no longer focus on the differential at hand. The sight of Chase pacing and dragging his hand through his hair now had all of his attention. Part of him wanted to remove the worry on the younger man's face by reassuring that he would stay away from the case but the other part knew that there was no way he could keep that promise.

With a sigh, House got out, walked around, and leaned against the back of the car. Not knowing what to say, he opted to wait until Chase stopped and approached him.

"I know you hate hearing this but it needs to be said so shut up until I'm done. I care about you. I care about what happens to you. And I care about us…whatever this thing between us is. So you damn well better believe that I care if either is being affected in any way. Right now, this _case_ has the potential to destroy both."

Hearing Chase's possessive tone sent a thrill through House. Again, he was tempted to give into the blond's plea but his brain refused to let it go. He knew with every fiber of his being that there was something foul at play.

Instead of saying something that would likely end up being a partial truth, House did the next best thing to express how he felt.

His hand quickly slid around Chase's neck and pulled him forward until their lips were locked together.

Without thinking Chase sank into the embrace. His kisses were slow yet firm. A swipe of a tongue on his upper lip gave House automatic entrance to taste the rest of his mouth.

It was unfair really that this man had such a talent with his mouth that it felt as if you were being drugged. Yet with all that sensation, the memories from earlier were strong enough to break through the haze.

Chase took what little breath he had left and ripped his lips away. Staring at House's intense gaze, although mostly comforting, still hadn't removed the lingering doubt.

"You're not going to let this go."

As expected, there was no contradiction…only silence.

The day's events had taken their toll at last. Chase had no more fight left today.

"I have to go. I need time…away."

There was no masking how tired he sounded.

House still looked at Chase as if recording his face to memory before giving a slight nod in acceptance.

The somber Aussie untangled himself and made his way to the exit, never once turning back.

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**Four Days Later**

"I'd like you to share what happened on Saturday."

Having sensed what the session's topic was going to revolve around, House had preemptively decided to try to not say a word. Aggravatingly, it was easier said than done. He continued to center his frayed nerves by staring at a tree outside the window.

"Dr. Chase appeared to be rather upset on his way out."

Nolan clearly wanted to cut to the "chase", no pun intended.

Thinking back since the incident, House had been successful in keeping his frustrations in check…during the day.

Freedom Master continued to decline mentally will still no obvious cause. This factor alone kept him motivated to stick with his decision.

The nights, however, were a completely different matter all together. As much as he tried to stop it, Chase's image would surface to the forefront of his mind while the rest of the world slept.

It would start out idyllic, seeing his deliriously dazed face after being thoroughly kissed. Seeing Chase laughing completely at ease from one of his innuendo filled comments. House would try to hold onto this image like a drowning man for air.

Abruptly though it would shift and Chase's concerned face would seem to surround him at every turn. His pulse racing at the claustrophobic feeling. Yet, he would rather endure it then what came next.

The most lasting image at the end was the face of disappointment and exhaustion. Blue eyes completely dulled. Mouth set in a thin firm line. Shoulders and back hunched forward in defeat.

"House."

With a jolt, House was brought out of his reverie.

Nolan simply stared expectantly waiting for the information he wanted.

Talking a deep breath gave House a second wind to not give in and fight back. With a grin, he tilted his head as if solving a puzzle.

"You're persistent I'll give you that. Making sure the coast is clear before you try to 'tap dat'. Like I said, I don't think you're his type."

Nolan smiled calmly.

"Is this the way you want to keep playing it out? Seems very one note to me."

"You're the one that brings up Chase first…talk about one note."

"He is one of the few constant stabilizers in your life. He's worked directly with you the longest. Considering how much time you invest yourself to that work would make those relationships comparable to what would be family to most. So, yes, I would say it's worth talking about. Now why don't you share what happened Saturday."

House decided to keep shrugging away from the truth.

"Just the usual. Sun shining. Birds chirping. Schizophrenics ranting. Oh yeah and the meatloaf at dinner tasted like an old sock. You might be able to round up some new head cases from the kitchen if they honestly think that food was edible."

"I'll take it under advisement. Anything else you wish to discuss?"

House was fed up. The fuse for his patience was even shorter lately and had reached the end. He used his emergency card in hopes to finish this session immediately.

"Nope. Sorry the share tank is all emptied out for today. I really should let you concentrate on other pressing matters anyway. Say like the mysterious lady X from your calendar that you frequently meet. The one I'm sure your wife knows nothing about."

House was mildly impressed at Nolan's composure to the subtle threat. Finally sensing no further resistance; he got up and left the room.

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**One minute later**

He was marching around the ward until he found his hyper roommate.

"Be ready tonight. We need to do some recon."

Not waiting for a reply, he immediately headed outside to the benches to better map out his plan.

"Yessss." Alvie hissed quietly and went back to his ping pong game, bouncing around with even more excitement than before.

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More to come soon…

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!


	8. Chapter 8

Shout out to KitanaRaven, AnimeWolf524, and Laura for the reviews of encouragement. I really appreciate it!

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~~Chapter 8~~

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"Fifteen minutes until the final night check comes around. You ready?"

"Ready steady like the crazy killer Freddy…"

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Now go."

House walked down the hallway later that night with a content smirk. As planned, Alvie proved to be the perfect distraction while he sabotaged the door to Freedom Master's room from locking as well as his own.

Alvie was right beside him walking in a semi-crouched position hands up miming as if he had a gun.

They reached their destination with no one being the wiser. House slipped into the room with Alvie staying outside keeping watch.

The room was bathed in darkness except for a faint sliver of light from the doorway. Once his eyes adjusted, House moved toward the sleeping kid who had not stirred what so ever.

It would be the perfect time to ask questions since any drugs given to him that afternoon would be at their least effective.

House placed a hand on the kid's shoulder and gave him a shake.

"Hey...wake up."

There was still no movement.

He shook him again but more forcefully.

"Come on. Get up."

The reaction this time wasn't much better; eyelids only opening half way.

Tilting the kid's head to the faint light, House leaned in to peer closer. A couple of muttered curses escaped his lips knowing that further questioning would be useless.

Pupils were dilated and unresponsive. A sign that drugs were recently entered into the body.

He returned Freedom Master back to the same position as before and saw him fall asleep within seconds.

Time being limited; House began to search through the room for other clues. The nightstand, closet, bathroom, and underneath the bed were all normal much to his disappointment.

Dragging himself off the floor, his foot bumped into the trash bin and heard something solid roll around. Reaching in, he quickly made contact with what felt like a small glass bottle. Bringing his hand up, House saw the unmistakable outline of an empty medicine injection vial with one word clearly standing out on the label.

Ropinirole.

The gears in his mind accelerated trying to recall everything he knew about this drug. In a medical journal, there was a study about its uses to treat Parkinson's disease. It was shown to improve mobility while decreasing tremors. An area of the brain was essentially rewired with this drug.

Some of the side effects themselves also proved to be rather serious. The top two most concerning were drowsiness and hallucinations.

To make matters worse, these reactions were only amplified by the standard medications that were given to most of the patients.

_**BANG**_

House whipped around when the door was slammed shut, enveloping the room in complete darkness. As a result, the vial slipped from his loose grip and tumbled back into the trash.

'_Shit.'_

"Hey you! Stop right there! How did you get out of your room?"

"You'll never take me alive coppers!"

Alvie's footsteps could be heard running away and the orderlies' approaching.

"Mike, check this room he came from. I'll go find him."

'_Double shit.'_

House quickly headed in the direction he believed the closet to be with his arms out in front. He hit a wall after three steps and frantically started feeling around for the frame of the sliding door. He froze though when a thin stream of light poured in to his left.

"Mike! I need your help picking this guy up!"

"Alright! I'm coming!"

House let go of the breath he was holding in when the light was gone again and went to the bedroom door. Frustratingly, his evidence would have to wait until tomorrow. There was only a matter of seconds now to get back without getting caught.

Opening the door slightly, he peaked out to make sure the coast was clear. Not forgetting to cover his tracks, he made sure both doors were un-sabotaged before returning back to his bed. The timing was perfect as the orderlies then came in with his unconscious roommate.

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House was out of his room the first thing that morning after all the doors unlocked.

Without pausing, he headed straight for Freedom Master's room again. The kid was sitting there zoned out as per usual. He made his way over to wastebasket as before to recover his proof.

However, he stopped short at the sight of the small bin minus the plastic liner. Although he knew it would do no good, House picked it up and inspected it closely. A frantic urge compelled him to still keep rooting around as well as under the bed.

The search was over in less than a minute. The proof was gone. A flash of fear slithered down his spine and had him thinking for a second whether or not the hallucinations had come back.

There were no indicators in the room to make him believe anything was false. His confidence still waivered though since every room practically looked the same. The only difference to this one was the kid curled up on the bed.

"What are you doing in here?"

Panic slowly started to build under his skin as he turned to see Alvie rush into the room. Words felt as if they were stuck in his throat. Alvie didn't wait for him to reply.

"What's taking you so long? Did you get it? Has the package been secured? Is the mission accomplished?"

Instantly, House felt his lungs regain functionality and contract to let out the breath he'd been holding.

"No. Someone else managed to get to it first."

"This is awesome. It's like we're going head to head with an evil genius. Like one of those Bond villains!"

"Except this time Dr. Evil is a shrink."

"So who's our top suspect? Think Nolan had something to do with it?"

House thought back to all the sessions for an indicator of suspicion. He wouldn't deny that it would've been great to kill two birds with one stone but knew that Nolan wasn't a part of the scheme. This meant that the real culprit was actually pretty obvious.

"No. Nolan is in the clear on this but that doesn't matter. I know who the real mad scientist is."

"Uh oh. You got kinda funny look like you're about to do something crazy…no pun intended."

"Damn right."

"Woah, you might wanna slow your roll there. In case you forgot, the proof that you need is gone…way gone…like Houdini gone."

"Then I'll have to get it straight from the horse's mouth."

House could hear Alvie sputtering behind him trying to get him to stop but gave no attention. He was determined to get some answers.

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"Did you really think you could get away with it?"

Medina simply stared at him with an unreadable gaze before speaking.

"Good afternoon to you too Greg. How are you feeling today?"

With his cane tightly gripped in his hand, it took all of House's patience to not take a swing at his head.

"Cut the crap. I know. Don't waste my time denying it, even though you've already been sneaking around trying to cover up your tracks."

As if on cue, Medina's face changed to a clearly rehearsed look of concern.

"Listen, I understand as a doctor it can be hard to let go of that control…"

The fuse to his temper finally reached its end at the condescending tone.

"OH WILL YOU SHUT UP! You wouldn't know the difference between a tongue depressor and the stick lodged up your ass! What I do know is that your stupidity is sending that kid right into neuro failure!"

During his rant, House had backed Medina against the hallway by grabbing the lapels of his coat in his free hand. Slight fear did register on the smaller man's face; however, a glint of satisfaction also appeared.

"Code gray!"

The orderlies were on him before he could move an inch. Two seconds later, he now found himself turned and pinned against the same wall.

An internal warning rang out immediately as he realized that he was not being lowered to the ground like he was during his "fight" with Alvie. Instead, his shirt sleeve was being lifted by an orderly.

Fear spread like ice through his veins as he saw Medina approaching him with a syringe.

"What is that?"

Not waiting for an answer, House started struggling with all his might.

"Get the fuck off of me! Let me go now!"

Of course, yelling was pointless as each of the men holding him had a good 20 pounds of muscle on him.

"Just relax Greg. Hold him still."

Still he continued to struggle even as he felt the needle puncture his skin and the world faded into darkness.

"No…"

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Chase was anticipating an awkward visit this time around considering how he'd left things with House. Not surprising, he wasn't able to spot House in the main room of the wing and headed for his assigned room. However, the sight of an empty room was all that he found.

Deciding to try his luck outside, Chase turned around and started walking to the back entrance.

"Psst…psst…"

He abruptly stopped and looked around trying to identify where the noise was coming from. The hallway appeared to be empty as well. Again, he started walking.

"Psst…yo….psst…over here"

This time Chase was able to find the source of the noise was coming from a room on the opposite side. The door was only slightly ajar, making it hard to see the owner of the voice. He approached the door slowly until suddenly a head popped out clearly impatient.

"Hurry up! Come on. We don't have a lot of time!"

Chase groaned internally when he recognized the head belonged to House's roommate. Just as he was going to give the hyper man an excuse so that he could leave, hands grabbed and yanked him into the room.

At the sudden action, he felt uneasy at what Alvie wanted. That was until he saw concerned eyes staring back at him.

"Alvie, what's wrong?"

"I told him…I told him not to think but he didn't listen…"

"Who didn't listen? House? Are you talking about House?"

"…didn't listen…should've listened and now they got him…"

The uneasiness that had left now returned for a completely different reason. The look of concern facing him had now morphed into one of distress.

"Alvie...I need you to focus on me for a second. Look at me. Good. Now I need you to tell me what this is about. Did something happen to House?"

Chase stood there for about 10 minutes listening to the jittery man recount what had taken place a few hours earlier.

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Chase could only seem to feel the pounding of his heart by the time he finished speaking with Alvie. Concern for House's safety had never been as dominant in his mind as right then. He frantically tried to think of how to help him.

Confronting Medina would clearly not do him any good. If anything, the man might potentially cause further damage to House in an effort to cover up the evidence. He debated next on going to Nolan but knew he really didn't want to because he was still wary of the man's intentions about House.

Wilson's name of course was floating through his mind but honestly, didn't know what pull an oncologist could have at a psychiatric facility.

'_No, not an oncologist but a dean of medicine maybe…'_

Cell phone in hand without thought, Chase started looking for Cuddy's number. He was about to connect the call when a voice in front of him called his name.

"Dr. Chase?"

His current idea quickly evaporated as he gazed at Dr. Beasley. A new thought took its place as he noticed the concern being directed at him.

"Dr. Chase, are you alright?"

"No, actually I'm not. I need to see House. I know he's locked up in isolation but it's very important that I see him."

She sighed and now looked at him with sympathy.

"I'm sorry but that's not…"

"This is serious. I need to see him right now."

"Dr. Chase, I know that you care for Greg but…"

"Please! Hear me out. I know that House is a lot to handle and he always wants to have his way. Believe me, in all the years I've known him, it was a rare occurrence to _not_ see him try to manipulate someone."

"I hope you're about to make an excellent point next Dr. Chase."

"My point is that, more often than you would think, those same manipulations have been used for the well being of a patient. And it's my belief that this is the case right now. Please let me see him."

Desperation obvious in his plea, she sighed and paused clearly trying to decide what to do.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you see him. Only authorized staff has access to the isolation area and it's strictly monitored."

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Blurs of shapes and muffled sounds were the first thing to hit House's consciousness. It was as if his whole brain was packed with cotton, slowing down the mental gears from forming complete thoughts. With arms and legs feeling equally lethargic, he started concentrating on vision and hearing.

The sound was becoming closer and very insistent. As if emerging from a pool, he was slowly able to recognize that the sound was someone calling his name.

"Greg…Greg, can you hear me?"

A flash of yellow crossed his eyes. Only one thought came to mind from that.

"Ch…ase…"

"Greg, its Dr. Beasley. I need you to focus. Can you hear me?"

Somewhere deep in his brain, House knew what was being asked of him but it was as if someone scrambled around all the sensors to his basic functions.

A groan slowly escaped his mouth with what felt like took an enormous amount of effort on his part.

"I need some help in here now!"

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Cliffhanger? :( I know.

I'm aware that the medical diagnosis probably isn't accurate. I tried doing some research and this was the closest logical premise I came up with.

Please keep the feedback coming! Let me know you guys think!


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